Category Archives: Festivals

It’s officially Fall in just a few days, yay! If you’ve been following here for a while then you know how much my girls and I love to visit farms this time of year! I am super excited that Wayside Farm is opening this weekend – September 23rd! We first visited Wayside last year and although it’s about an hours drive away from us, it was well worth it and definitely one of our favorites! The trip out to Berryville, Virginia is so pretty with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. And Wayside has the BEST pumpkin patch where you can pick all different colors and shapes of pumpkins! (See the big white one we picked last year in the photo above!)

Also, this year Wayside has kindly offered all my readers 20% off the admission fee. Just mention “Capitol Momma” at the register to receive the discount off the prices below.

General Admission……..$10/person
2 and under………………..FREE
Military with ID…………….FREE
Group (10-20)……………..$9/person
Group (20 or more)……..$8/person

Located directly off Route 7 in the heart of Northern Virginia wine country, Wayside Farm Fun is a beautiful working farm set against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Known for growing the prettiest pumpkin varieties in the area, visitors are invited to pick pumpkins of all different shapes, colors and sizes in their 8-acre u-pick pumpkin patch. After pumpkin picking, enjoy a variety of fall activities such as the jumping pillow, pumpkin cannons, slides, animals, and more. End your day of fun by getting lost in one of the area’s largest corn mazes – this year our theme is Pokemon Go.

This year we are also hosting Scouting Day on Sunday, October 1. Scouts receive a discounted rate and are invited to participate in a Pass-a-Pumpkin community service project. A flag ceremony will be held at 1 PM before the pig races, and all scouts receive a patch.

On October 20 and 21st, Wayside Farm Fun is once again partnering with Loudoun Valley High School Performing Arts Department to create a Scary Corn Maze. The maze will be open past dark and include a guided tour through a spooky maze inhabited by costumed actors.

Fall is just around the corner and Wayside Farm will be opening next week on Saturday, September 17th! Each season they turn their 120-acre working farm into a unique Fall Festival with pig races, hayrides, pumpkin drops, corn mazes and much more! The best part is this year Wayside has kindly offered all of you 20% off – just mention Capitol Momma at the register!

​General Admission……..$10/person
2 and under………………..FREE
Military with ID…………….FREE
Group (10-20)……………..$9/person
Group (20 or more)……..$8/person

Wayside also has some fun events this year:

Family Friendly Pumpkin Run

On Sunday, October 23 they will have their popular Pumpkin Run around the farm. The morning starts with a kids’ 5K obstacle run, followed by a carnival where the kids will be entertained so that Mom and Dad and older siblings can walk/run a 5K around the farm. After the race, the farm will open and all families are invited to stay and play. 100% of proceeds from the race are donated to Loudoun Breast Health Network. To register or for more information, visit http://www.waysidefarmfun.com/pumpkin-run.html

Spooky Night Time Corn Maze

On October 21st and 22nd from 6-10 PM the Loudoun Valley Drama Club will turn the maze into a spooky haunt. Visitors can choose to either navigate the corn maze in the dark at night without extra spooks, or pick the spooky path and plan to be scared!

Redskins Corn Maze

This year the farm is celebrating all things Redskins, including the Kirk Cousins Corn Maze (as seen on ESPN!) How cool is this?! Go skins!

Make sure to include Wayside in your family fun plans this Fall! They will be open weekends September 17 through October 30.

Happy New Year! December was a fun filled month and a great one to end the year. There are so many fun holiday events throughout the month in the DC area and we tried to do as many as possible. I love experiencing the magic of Christmas through my children. These years when they are little and truly believe in Santa is precious and I want to make the most of this time. So, we went to few different Santa events, a couple of light displays, a gingerbread house workshop, and a few different holiday shows in the theaters for a thoroughly festive Christmas season.

Below is a recap of where our adventures took us this month. Dumbarton Oaks was one of my favorite new (to us) places we explored and my girls really loved it too. The best part is that it is free during the winter months, so take advantage and check it out on a warmer winter day. You can also take your kids to the playground at Montrose Park right next door while you are there. The National Postal Museum was also surprisingly nice! No crowds and lots of different interactive exhibits for kids. And it’s right across the street from Union Station where you can grab lunch.

May was a busy month full of fun adventures with my girls. We spent a lot of time outdoors at different farms and parks. It was filled with lots of flowers and happy moments. I’ve always thought fall was my favorite time in the DC area but I’m not sure anymore because this spring has been pretty amazing. We visited some really pretty places and made a lot of great memories!

We are ready for summer! There are so many fun things to do in the DC area and every summer seems to go by faster and faster. This year I decided to make a list of our top activities that we want to do. This is also Clara’s last summer before starting a full day pre-kindergarten program in the fall. So, we want to make this one count! In between trips to Nebraska and Rehoboth Beach, camps, pool time, bbqs, and tennis and swim lessons, we hope to fit these other fun things into our days. Some of these activities are our tried-and-true favorites and some are new things that we will be doing for the first time. I hope this gives you some good ideas of fun things to do with your family. Hooray for summer, it’s going to be a good one!

Tuesday was such a beautiful day that I wanted to take the girls to do something outdoors, especially since I saw rain in the forecast for the following day. I was looking to find somewhere new and not too far away. So I did a little research during nap time and came up with Burke Nursery’s Pumpkin Playground for the afternoon outing. This was just a quick 25 minute drive from the Maryland suburbs.

The entrance is perfectly adorned with every type of fall decoration including mums, pumpkins, and corn stalks.

The entrance takes you through the market, which sells a lot of cute fall decorations, local jams, jellies, dressings and pumpkin carving supplies.

Clara has been really into decorating our house for Halloween. We’ve been on the look out for some ghosts to hang on our front porch and were excited to find them at Burke’s.

After paying for admission in the market, we headed out to the playground area. There are several fun playground structures including a castle, monster truck, pirate ship, train, and a few more. Lots of various slides, swings, and old school merry-go-rounds.

There are also a bunch of those riding toys you see at malls or supermarkets that you normally have to put a quarter in to start but here you just press a button and the kids can ride as many times as they want.

There are a couple sets of giant slides; one set that is bigger and a smaller set that has a cute Wizard of Oz theme for the younger children.

Included in admission is a hayride through a haunted forest where there are different spooky scenes with ghosts, goblins, witches, etc. The ride lasts about 10 minutes.

There isn’t a pumpkin patch at Burke’s, but there are lots of little pumpkins to choose from before you leave and its also included in the admission price. They also have bigger carving pumpkins available to purchase.

This is a really fun fall activity, especially great for toddlers and preschoolers. I would say Burke’s would be best enjoyed by children up to age 8. Its on the smaller scale for fall festivals so its much easier to manage if you have multiple little ones. It wasn’t too busy when we were there, which is always nice so try to go on a weekday if you can. My girls had a lot of fun and were entertained for a couple hours but could have stayed longer if we had the time. Hurry, it’s only open through October 31st.

Good to Know:

•Admission on weekdays is $9/person, weekends is $13/person, age 2 & under are free.
•Open from October 1 through October 31st.
•Hours: Mon-Thurs 9am-8pm, 9am-9pm Fri-Sat, 9am-8pm Sun
•Food and snacks are available to purchase and there are a couple of picnic pavilions.
•Pony rides and face painting are additional activities available on the weekends.
•Portable restrooms only.
•Diaper changing area available.

Last Sunday we took a road trip up 270 to check out the fall festival at Summers Farm in Frederick. It was our first time visiting and I must say we were very impressed with everything they had to offer! It had a great fall atmosphere and was not overly crowded.

As we were driving up to the entrance, the girls got excited when they saw the large area filled with all sorts of fun activities.

Clara first spotted the animals and wanted to go visit them right away. We bought animal feed at the entrance, so she was ready to feed the goats.

In addition to goats, they also have ducks, geese, chickens, llamas, pigs, and miniature horses.

After checking out all the animals, we continued to make our way around to all the other activities including the spider web climb, giant jumping pillow, tube slides, and apple blaster.

The pumpkin train was a big hit with my girls, since it is something we haven’t seen at any other farms yet. A little bumpy for me but fun was had by all!

The list of attractions continues – there is a playground area with animal swings, right-hand only maze, football and baseball toss games, pumpkin hut, corn cribs, tether ball, hip-hop balls, and rubber duck races.

There are two corn mazes – a short and a long. We opted for the short maze, since it is more suitable for the younger crowd. Clara was excited about finding each number along the way. The longer and more challenging maze spans 14 acres and includes 2.5 miles of pathways.

It was a hot day when we were at Summers Farm last weekend, so my girls were tired after just a couple hours of running around. Although, there were definitely enough activities to keep them busy for much longer. We didn’t end up going for a hayride to pick our own pumpkins but we did grab a pumpkin at the market before leaving. They also make amazing apple cider donuts that are for sale in the market. You must try them!

Additional Information:

•Admission is $6.95 on weekdays, $10.95 on weekends. Kids 2 and under are free.
•Lots of food options available at the Barnyard Grill, Sweet Shoppe, and Feed Sack.
•The farm is open at night in the fall and you can reserve a campfire ($65) for roasting hotdogs or s’mores.
•The farm is spread out, so I recommend bringing a stroller for little ones. There aren’t any paths but it is still easy enough to push a stroller throughout the property.
•Portable restrooms only.
•Summers Farm also offers field trips and birthday parities on site.

This family owned and operated farm originated in the 1950s and now includes 300 acres where they grow over 25 kinds of fruits, veggies, and flowers. I started visiting the farm years before having children and now I enjoy taking my girls here several times a year. It is conveniently located off interstate 270 making it quicker to get to than other farms in the area. However, that also means that it is much more crowded, especially on the weekends or during their holiday festivals.

During the school year, the weekdays are not busy so I decided to take my girls last Friday. The pick your own crop throughout the year includes: strawberries, sugar snap and English peas, blueberries, tart cherries, flowers, blackberries, potatoes, red raspberries, tomatoes, apples, pumpkins, and Christmas trees. Last week, the apples were not yet ready to pick so we headed to the raspberry field first. The picking was plentiful.

Mae was eating the berries faster than Clara and I could pick them so we ended up not having many to take home. At least Mae had a tummy full of delicious raspberries.

It was close to 90 degrees that day so the girls did not last long out in the field where there was no shade. We got in the car and I turned up the air conditioning and we drove over to the Sunflower field. Clara has always loved picking flowers.

After picking a few gigantic sunflowers we drove up to the area where the holiday festivals take place. In this space is a playground with a few different wooden structures including a pirate ship, castle, and train.

After burning off some energy at the playground, we drove down to the entrance and stopped at the farm market to pay for our raspberries and purchase a few more items. The market is stocked with the season’s fresh produce. They also have a dairy case with local cheese, milk, and eggs. Fresh baked pies and other baked goods, kitchen supplies, and home decorations are also for sale.

Butler’s is probably best known for their Halloween and Easter festivals. Their 34th annual Pumpkin festival is just around the corner: September 27 & 28, October 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 25, 26. 10am – 5:00pm. This festival has so many fun activities for children including: hayrides, giant slides, straw maze, pumpkinland, pedal tractors, corn hole, pumpkin coach, corn maze, hayloft, pony rides, pumpkin cannon, face painting, kids crafts, and pick your own pumpkins. There is also live music. The festival is $11 per person and children 2 and under are free. We have attended in years past on nice days and it is completely packed with people. We once had to wait over 45 minutes in line to purchase food. So it might be a good idea to pack a picnic if you are there during lunch time.

The Bunnyland Eggstravaganza has similar activities but with an Easter theme: hayride down the bunny trail, rubber duck derby, egg hunt, moon bounce, & bunnies, chicks, & lambs in the barn. Tickets are $8.75 per child and $6.75 per adult. When I have been in years past, the Bunnyland festival has been much less busy than the Pumpkin festival.

Good to know:

•Containers for pick your own are available for purchase in the market. If you bring your own, make sure to have them weighed first.
•For the festivals, it is cash only at the entrance gates. You can purchase tickets with a credit card at the farm market.
•Some of the activities at the festivals are at an additional cost so bring extra cash for face painting, pony rides, etc.
•Portable restrooms only.
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